Friday 23 October 2020

Aurora but no Aurora predicted

 It amazed me how many times i have seen the Aurora even though no aurora was predicted. Last night space weather was flat, no indication of an aurora 


However the sky was clear and it was calm with no moon showing at the time, good for the stars.

I thought i would get as high as possible just in case a weak aurora showed so i went to the top of Mossy hill.


On the first photo the camera picked up a weak aurora north over Bigton, not visible to the naked eye.

The aurora started to spread  and there was some purple above the green although no rays at anytime and as expect due to it being a weak aurora was very low on the horizon


Good job i headed up the hill, also the cloud was low so could be obstructing the glow.

The stars were magnificent, also Mars shining out and i could see Andromeda as well to the south east.

With the Milky Way stretching over head it was great to be out. No wind which made it good for photography, this is not the place to go when its windy as its very exposed.

At one point the coastguard helicopter came along passing close to St Ninian's isle and casting a red glow over the sea.

I also managed to capture the Aurora, two meteors and two satellites(US Navy  Surveillance) on one photo. The meteors are from the Orionid shower, part of Halley's comet with about 20 meteor per hour. I saw 5 including one very bright one but it was the opposite side to where i was photographing


I ended up at the layby above Sandwick on the way home, even over Cunningsburgh with all the light pollution you could see the aurora, well at least the camera could.


Looking north to Cunningsburgh

Looking south to Mousa

By the time i had finished the temperature had gone down from 5 degrees to 0 degrees


Sandlodge

Sandsayre

By the end of the night only people in Shetland and the very far north reported seeing the aurora.

Not looking good for the next few days with cloud and rain


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Thursday 8 October 2020

Planets

 You don't always need a telescope to see or photograph the planets. If you know where to look you can find them

Venus


                                                                       Saturn and Jupiter


Apart from the Moon (800mm) the rest of the photos have been taken on a 28-200mm lens. I was hoping to capture the Moon and Mars in close conjunction but we have had cloud and rain so no chance to add a photo.

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Sunday 4 October 2020

Green Shetland Aurora

 We have had a good run of Aurora nights but the problem has been nearly a full moon

When ever we get cloud around it reflects any light pollution so the clearer the skies the better

Its always good to have a location in mind which is close by as the Aurora can fade quickly


Sandsayre is only a couple of mins away and providing its clear gives a wide open view looking north

I managed to get up to the top of Scousburgh hill although there was cloud around St Ninian's isle was still covered by the green stuff



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